YORKSHIRE MAIN COLLIERY

 At 4.55 am on 21 November 1978, 65 men were returning to the shaft bottom at the end of their shift when the diesel hauled manriding train, in which they were travelling, ran out of control for a distance of about 800 feet (244m) on an incline dipping at 1 in 16.  The train failed to negotiate a curve at the foot of the incline, became derailed and crashed into the steel arched roadway supports.  Seven men were killed and three seriously injured.  A number of other men received minor injuries and shock and were treated either at the hospital of the colliery medical centre.

Description     

Bentley Colliery is one of 10 producing mines in the Doncaster Area of the National Coal Board and is situated approximately three miles (4.8km) north of Doncaster.  At the time of the accident the saleable output was 14,000 tons per week with 920 men employed below ground and 280 men on the surface.

The two shafts were sunk in 1908 to a depth of 624 yards (570m) to the Barnsley Seam and later deepened to the Dunsil Seam at a depth of 642 yards (587m).

Production from the Barnsley Seam commenced in 1909 when coal was transported along subsidiary haulages in tubs hauled by ponies and then along endless rope haulages to the pit bottom.  By 1943 belt conveyors had been introduced to transport coal from the faces to the tub loading stations and endless rope haulages continued in used from there to the shafts.  Diesel powered locomotives were introduced underground in 1939 for manriding and extended to coal haulage duties.  In 1945 thereby eliminating many endless rope haulages.

Present coal production is obtained from three mechanised coal faces in the Dunsil Seam, namely D34's in the northern part of the mine, together with D10's and D14's in the north eastern section.  Manriding to these areas is by diesel locomotoves hauling Wickham manriding carriages along a common roadway termed the East Travelling Road as far as the D04/D06 junction which was about 2 miles (3.2km) from the shafts.  At that point trains travelling to D34's turn left along D06's road and have no further involvement in this investigation.

The fleet of 12 locomotives used varied in age from 22 years to 33 years.  They were manufactured by Hunslet Limited and were either 50hp or 65hp fitted with single cabs.  All locomotives were services and controlled from a diesel garage located neat the pit bottom.

Safety Equipment  

Development work to find a suitable friction type, energy absorbing, arrestor had been in progress in the mining industry for a number of years and in April 1977 a Godwin Warren type of arrestor was installed near the bottom of the D04 incline for the sole purpose of safely stopping runaway vehicles.  This device consists essentially of an impact head, mounted on auxilliary rails, arranged to engage 12 successive pairs of friction clamps.  The auxilliary rails are secured between the main rails.  In operation, the impact head protudes substantially above rail level so that it can make contact with runaway vehicles.  It is provided with an operating lever which must be held in the down position to lower the impact head below rail level and to allow vehicles to pass slowly under controlled conditions.  The impact head is heavily counterbalanced so that when the operating lever is released the impact head rises and assumes its arresting position.

Picture of the arrestor.

The accident

Events leading to the accident

On the night shift of Monday 20 November 1978, one hundred and fifty two men descended the mine at 10.15pm to commence normal working.  Some stayed in the pit bottom area but 42 boarded the D34 manriding train and were taken to that district and 87 boarded two trains and were taken up the D04 gate to 5's Paddy Station.

Men boarding the paddy train at Bentley.

Drivers of manriding trains usually worked with their regular conductors.  Of the two trains going to 5's Paddy Station the first was hauled by No 13 Locomotive driven by R L Wade with his regular conductor, H A Wells.  This train consisted of four carriages, the following trains of two carriages was hauled by No 18 Locomotive and was driven by G Shone.  However, his regular conductor did not come to work and his place for that shift was taken by S Allott.

The pit bottom deputy looked at the notice board in the diesel garage where a list of names of fully trained and authorised conductors was posted and he nominated Allott as a substitute conductor for that shift.  He confused the name Allott with another conductor Aylott whose name was on the board, so that Allott was deployed to work for which he had not been trained.

At about 4.00am, three locomotives left the diesel garage to go inbye in readiness for manriding at the  of the shift.  The first one, No 13 was drived by Wade and hauled two carriages which had been repaired during the shift.  Wells was his conductor.  Repairs had been carried out on the hand brake on carriage No 1660 and a new leaf spring had been fitted to carriage No 4201.  These carriages were subsequently to become the first and second carriages in the accident train.

The first locomotive going inbye with the two empty carriages stopped at the arrestor.  Conductor Wells lowered the impact head and inserted a pin into the handle to hold it in the lowered position.  He remounted the empty train and continued up the incline leaving the arrestor in the lowered position because he saw the headlight of a following locomotive and assumed that this locomotive would follow him up the incline.  In the event, this locomotive did not follow him but turned left to D34 district before reaching the arrestor.

Shone driving No 18 Locomotive inbye as a light engine, approached the arrestor and on seeing it to be retracted he drove over it without stopping.  He decided to leave the arrestor in its pinned down condition and continued to the top of the incline.

On reaching the top of the incline, Wade, driving No 13 Locomotive and hauling the repaired carriages, stopped at 5's Paddy Station and applied the parking brakes to the carriages.  These two carriages were boarded by workmen who were waiting to travel out of the mine.

Shone arrived at the top of the incline where his locomotive was coupled to the two carriages already containing workmen.  As it was the custom for the first train to consist of four carriages, he shunted these two carriages further up the incline to collect two of the four carriages which had been parked throughout the shift.  These carriages also contained a number of workmen.  Wade and his conductor, Wells, assisted in the coupling together of the carriages and locomotive as they were aware that Allott, the substitute conductor, was not fully conversant with the operations.

It was intended to form a four carriage train leaving the spare locomotive (No 13) to follow behind with the remaining two carriages containing surplus workmen.  Allott was told by the regular drivers and conductor to sit at the rear of the last carriage which is the accustomed position of a conductor.  Accordingly he went to the last carriage (No 6) and was left behind in the succeeding event.

The accident

When Wells had completed the coupling together of the carriages to make a four carriage train he signalled with his cap lamp to Shone, the driver of No 18 Locomotive to pull the train forward a short distance so that No 13 Locomotive could be brought out of 5's cross-slit and be coupled to the remaining two carriages to form the second train.

Shone said that he engaged second gear, released his brakes and commenced to move down the roadway only intending to go 20-30 feet, but in doing so, his train gathered speed and accelerated down the incline with 65 men aboard.

It soon became apparent that the train was travelling at an excessive speed and driver Shone said that he applied the mechanical brakes following which the locomotive wheels locked.  He stated that he carried out the anti-skid procedure by releasing the mechanical brake and re-applying the service air brake twice but was of the opinion that they had not effect on the speed of the train.

Meanwhile, the excessive speed was also apparent to many of the passengers, some assumed crouching positions in anticipation of the impact with the arrestor and two men in the last carriage applied the wheel operated parking brake.

As they approached the arrestor driver Shone saw that the impact head was in the lowered position so that there could be no controlled arrest and he could only hope that the train would safely negotiate the curve in the roadway.

The locomotive and the first carriage passed round the curve but the rear of the first carriage and the leading end of the second carriage left the track, parted company and crashed into the side of the roadway.  The locomotive was derailed at its front wheels only and the first carriage was fully derailed but remained upright. There was a gap of 67 feet to the rest of the train where the second and third carriages were derailed and slightly tilted into the roadside, the last carriage was derailed but remained upright.  Driver Shone stayed in his cab and although being severly shocked he returned the gear selection lever to neutral and applied the mechanical parking brake.

Picture of the paddy train after the crash.

The recovery

Deputies T Rush, T MacAlister and A Kenny were riding in the third carriages with Overman W Payne.  Apart from shock, they were unhurt and commenced emergency recovery operations.  Other men on the train rendered first aid and gave comfort to the injured.  Men who were still waiting at 5's Paddy Station for the second train realised that an accident had  occurred and ran down the help in the recovery.  Soon afterwards the third manriding train returning with men from D34's arrived at the junction and these men also assisted.  Deputy T Rush ran back to the junction and alerted the controller that there had been a serious accident and medical assistance was required.

Deputy MacAlister alighted from the train and ran back into the working district to collect supplies of morphia. In doing so he passed the arrestor and observed that the operating handle was pinned down by a bolt.  Shortly afterwards, N Smithard, a fitter also saw the arrestor was defeated with a three-eighth by three inch bolt inserted into the operating lever.

At the accident scene some men were trapped between the last three carriages and the roadside.  Carriages 2, 3 and 4 were disconnected from each other and sided over in order to release the men.

Night shift senior overman R McGuire, who was already at the surface, descended the mine again accompanied by a doctor and a nursing sister.  They travelled inbye on a quickly assembled manriding train which was subsequently used to transport the stretcher cases whilst those who were able walked out to the pit bottom.  All the injured men were brought to the surface within two hours and 18 men were sent to hospital for further medical treatment, of whom four were temporarily detained.  A further 40 men were treated for shock at the colliery medical centre.  The seven deceased were brought to the surface by 9.00am.

continued on page 2.